She's trying to take Edwards' votes by appropriating his rhetoric and Elizabeth Edwards' warmth. We sympathize with Elizabeth because she is warm and she might die. The Clintons had to simulate death. New Hampshire was about rebirth.

Maybe one change was the way youth changed our perception of how we traditionally view youth - oh our beloved youth.....wii like to vote, wii voted, wii may party instead of voting for a President come November, wii really believe our brats will not be spawned into our humdrum middle class existence because wii have a few semesters of college under our belts, wii prefer perecption and appearance over principle and conscience, wii will rule in due time because wii have big dreams and wii will rock you with them like wii just rocked Obama

Fascinating to compare the boilerplate in her speech, with its emphasis on government helping the downtrodden, against McCain's steel:

"The work that awaits us...on our watch: to defend our country from its enemies; to advance the ideals that are our greatest strength; to increase the prosperity and opportunities of all Americans.....

"[The people] don’t send us to Washington to take more of their money, and waste it....

"[I represent] the party of fiscal discipline, low taxes; enduring values; a strong and capable defense; that encourages the enterprise and ingenuity of individuals, businesses and families...

"In a time of war, and the terrible sacrifices it entails, the promise of a better future is not always clear....

"We must...proclaim that the history of the world will not be determined by this unpardonable foe, but by the aspirations, ideals, faith and courage of free people. In this great, historic task, we will never surrender. They will."

For him, the overarching issue is vanquishing the threat to the Western civilization.

Sen. Clinton says she has "the wisdom to end the war in Iraq the right way."

"Here's the text of the speech, which I looked up because I wanted to do a search and confirm my suspicion that a certain word — a word we've heard over and over lately — does not appear in the speech.

That word is: change."

A stunning over-the-fence grab to save a home run!

Nice catch Ann.

And a decent pivot on the part of the Clinton campaign. They've run a brilliant campaign for 2 years, carefully working on her weaknesses one by one, and now they've come up with a new theme to use to dig out.

I admit, I underestimated them, even as much as I respect their ruthlessness.

An enormous percentage of people say they want change and change isn't working as a message for me?

Well they're wrong, and its time to 'change' their minds. This isn't a game, its a serious business running the US of A, and we need someone that knows what they're doing.

Pogo is right. Dowd was right--it's like a Lifetime movie. I guess she won't be on Oprah talking about it, though. Nor will McCain, who is a man of steel and drew from that experience in his speech. It's shaping up to be 1972 again. I predict a win for Republicans, but not by the same huge margin. Pacifism is much more popular now than then.

Have you noticed that the Dems don't talk about the country much, especially love of country or national defense, but talk about themselves alot? Is narcissism interesting or compelling in a candidate? If so, why?

"Change" is Obama's meme, and when Obama says it he's tapping into the widely felt sentiment that it's time to flush the likes of the Clintons down the toilet. Obviously Hillary doesn't want to in any way go there.

That's what I mean, AJ. They both speak about a country that exists somewhere as a Platonic ideal, and they are going to take us to that promised land. It's the imagined, fetishized America of the ideal, and they foreground themselves as the One to take us there.

McCain, however, spoke about his love for the country as it is, the one in which most of us live now.